Plagiarism is academic theft. It is the use of another's idea or words without proper attribution or credit. An author's work is his/her property and should be respected by documentation. Plagiarism from the internet is no different from traditional plagiarism, and is in fact often far easier to catch with the use of technology available to instructors and administrators. It is a good idea to ask each instructor how they require sources to be noted and what constitutes “common knowledge” in their field to avoid possible problems. Credit must be given:
For every direct quotation
When a work is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in your own words
For information which is not common knowledge (it appears in several sources about the subject)
Citation When doing research, it is necessary to consult and gather information from a variety of places and authors. Therefore, it is important to cite the author (and the work) for a variety of reasons:
Credit the author and avoid plagiarism - Giving credit to the author or the work helps you to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting someone elses' words or ideas as your own. The university has a strict policy on academic dishonesty.
Give credibility to your facts and statements - Readers are often skeptical of sources they do not know or cannot find. By letting the reader know where you got your facts (and check them if they wish), readers will be more willing to accept how you came to your conclusions. It will also demonstrate to the readers the depth and scope of your research.
Help readers extend their own research - Readers use citations to check facts and statements, but also to extend their own research by viewing the topic through a different focus.
Citation Styles
There are a number of different styles or formats for citations, though APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian are most common. Which style you use depends on the subject discipline you are working in. Each style includes the same basic parts of a citation (author, title, page numbers, etc.), but are organized slightly differently. How do I know which citation style to use?
**APA** (American Psychological Association) The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Reference Desk BF76.7 .P83 2001)
Often used in the social sciences disciplines and many others.
**MLA**(Modern Language Association) MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Reference DeskLB2369 .G53 2009)
Often used in the languages and English disciplines and some others.
These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing. Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author. **Paraphrasing** involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly. Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
Note: All this information stolen from the UCSB library website.
Plagiarism is academic theft. It is the use of another's idea or words without proper attribution or credit. An author's work is his/her property and should be respected by documentation. Plagiarism from the internet is no different from traditional plagiarism, and is in fact often far easier to catch with the use of technology available to instructors and administrators. It is a good idea to ask each instructor how they require sources to be noted and what constitutes “common knowledge” in their field to avoid possible problems.
Credit must be given:
Plagiarism Workshop
Citation
When doing research, it is necessary to consult and gather information from a variety of places and authors. Therefore, it is important to cite the author (and the work) for a variety of reasons:
Citation Styles
There are a number of different styles or formats for citations, though APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian are most common. Which style you use depends on the subject discipline you are working in. Each style includes the same basic parts of a citation (author, title, page numbers, etc.), but are organized slightly differently.
How do I know which citation style to use?
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Reference Desk BF76.7 .P83 2001)
Often used in the social sciences disciplines and many others.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Reference DeskLB2369 .G53 2009)
Often used in the languages and English disciplines and some others.
Citation Overview
What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?
These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.
**Paraphrasing** involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
Note: All this information stolen from the UCSB library website.